10. Chapter 10

Harry’s P.O.V.

All I wanted to do was throw my phone at the wall opposite me, shutting its incessent vibrating up and at the same time, shutting everyone out from the little bubble I found myself in only seconds ago. The little bubble that surrounded Lyla and me as the one thing we’d both dreaded and anticipated for quite a while now; we’d kissed.

And being quite honest, it was one hell of a kiss; it was amazing in every way. Without wanting to sound up my own ass, I can openly say I had lots of comparison; but that kiss right there, was better than anything I’d ever experienced. It was smooth and gentle, passionate and meaningful in so many ways. But now, my bubble had been burst open by a sharp needle; otherwise known as Emma. I knew she had no intention of ruining this moment, she was completely oblivious to what had just occurred.

I contemplated not picking up, but Lyla’s silent encouragment by nodding towards my phone, I gave in and pressed the green button. “Yeah?”, I said, noticing how aggressive I sounded. “Hi babe, how’s it going?” Emma’s joyous voice threw me off for a second; having gotten used to Lyla’s soft tone this evening. “Good..you?”

Glancing from my feet to Lyla, I noticed her nibbling the inside of her cheek as she looked at me; somewhat dreamily, somewhat concentrated. Blinking, she only now really caught my eyes; her cheeks blushing, biting down on her bottom lip as she tried to hold back theh smirk that was obviously creeping on her lips.

Emma’s voice was now nothing but a background noise, my mind only focusing on the mysterious, fascinating human being that was stood before me. The sudden change of Lyla’s entire mood and usual behaviour, made me smile along; usually she’d back away as soon as we came closer, try to keep as much space in between us as possible. Despite when she was openly flirting with me. But now, she seemed like a young school girl; her cheeks a rosy shade, twisting her thumbs as she tried to avoid my gaze, her eyes wandering back to me every few milliseconds.

Reaching my hand up to her face, I ran a finger along her cheekbone; her cheeks heating up even further. I held back a chuckle as I kept watching her, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. “Harry?!” Emma’s confused shriek warped me back to reality, my hand dropping from Lyla’s face, shoving it into the pocket of my pants.

Frowning, Lyla took a step back; both of us now realizing what had actually been happening. “Uh, yeah..sorry. What did you say?”

”I said I was just turning in your street. Want me to pop round yours? You are home right?”, she asked happily; a flirty tone to her voice. “Urm, actually, I’m..not..I’m at, uh, Lyla’s.” Her head shot up to me, her eyes stern. Giving her a confusing look, I quickly concentrated back on Emma, who was now suggesting something that made not only angry, but also somewhat sad, hurt. “Hey, how about I come over as well? Lyla can invite Niall, it’ll be great. A double date!” Laughing, I only now heard the car engine through the phone, before it was turned off. Glancing out the window by Lyla’s door, I saw a tiny shape of a person get out of a car; she was already here. “I don’t, uh..”

”I’m here.” And with that, she hung up.

”What?”, Lyla asked. “Emma’s-“, I started, the sound of the doorbell chiming cutting me off. Turning to the door, Lyla flung it open; both of us met by an extremely good looking blonde. She was wearing high waisted denim shorts, a white crop top covering Emma’s upperbody; her hair falling over her shoulders in loose waves, her skin golden. Smiling that unmistakable smile, she gave Lyla a quick squeeze, before hopping over to me. Giving me a quick peck on the lips, she giggled loudly. “So, have you invited Niall yet?”, she beamed at Lyla; whose expression was nothing short of pure confusion. “Invite-”, she said, but I quickly interrupted her, “Yeah, she was just about to.”

”Good. Kitchen still that way?”, Emma asked, not awaiting any kind of answer, before strolling in the direction she’d just pointed in. ”Invite Niall?” Lyla’s hiss of a voice made me jump, before I nodded slowly. “It was her idea..”, I said, screwing my face up in shield. The look she gave me was hard for me to interpret. Was it sadness or hurt; anger or frustration; defeat? Or maybe she just told me what we’d both thought from the start; that things between us could never get serious, because of so many reasons. All of which I wasn’t quite aware of myself, the others I just tried to push into my mind to convince myself.

Lyla’s P.O.V.

Turning around and walking away from Harry, I pulled out my phone; and the next thing I knew I was squeezed in in between Harry and Niall on the couch, trying to focus on the movie in front of me. Which was quite hard to do. Niall’s hand was on my left thigh, Harry’s hand lingering beside my right. Whether it was intentional or not, I couldn’t help but notice the stroke of his fingers every so often; at first making me shudder involuntarily, but then soothing me. I knew he wasn’t supposed to be doing this, because of so many reasons; especially, though, because we both had a ‘date’ with us.

Swallowing, I pushed myself up from the sofa; telling them I was going to get us a few drinks. Which, technically I was; but honestly, I just wanted to get away. Hurrying out of the living room, I disappeared into the kitchen. Resting against the countertop, I sighed heavily; how the hell had I managed to get myself into this situation? Kissing Harry; what was I thinking? And that was it; I hadn’t thought. I just did; and now everything was even more complicated.

But that didn’t eliminate the fact that the kiss we had shared was one of the best I had ever experienced; if not the best. Harry’s lips had a softness to them that made me just want to melt into them; his movements proving he was clearly experienced. Nonetheless, the sparks that had flown, along with the firework that had went off in my very own mind, was incredible. But hadn’t supposed to happen. I had promised, sworn to myself that I wouldn’t let myself get soaked in Harry’s charm; not to let him be anything else but mere fun in my life. Seeing as he and Emma seemed to be getting along quite well, though, that option was also erased.

A hand on my upper arm made me jump back to reality; my attention turning over my shoulder. Being met by the soft smile of the blonde-haired boy I had undeniable feelings for; only the feelings towards him weren’t as messed up and confusing, in contrast to the curly haired guy who was currently in my living room, snuggling up with my beauty of a friend.

Returning the smile, I placed my hands on his shoulders as he snaked his round my waist. “Is something wrong?”, he asked quietly, scanning my face. Shaking my head, I smiled. “No, everything’s fine.” Giving me a questioning look, I just caught his mouth; placing a tender kiss on his lips.

Our lips parted and I nestled my face into the crook of his neck, deeply inhaling his manly odour; smiling to myself as I realized how good it felt to be in the arms of someone you knew cared about you. “Lyla?” Niall’s voice was muffled from his mouth pressing into the top of my head. “Mhm?”, I asked, not looking up. ”I was just wondering if you…maybe wanted to go out on a..you know, out? With me?” Loosening the grip round my body a bit, he leant back to catch my eyes. My surprised eyes. Had he really just said that? I thought all he wanted to do was hang out? Or was this ‘date’ a part of hanging out?

”I..yeah, sure.” Forcing a smile on my lips, he reciprocated my actions; leaning forward again to place a soft kiss on my forehead. Just as I was about to clear the air, ask him what this date was supposed to mean, a cough echoed through the kitchen. My gaze ripped from Niall to the doorway; to Harry.

“Urm, sorry to interrupt.. but..Lyla, can I talk to you for a sec?” Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked at me with almost squinting eyes. Sighing heavily, I nodded, “Yeah, sure.” Niall placed one last kiss on my temple, before walking out of the kitchen; giving Harry a quick nod before disappearing into the living room.

”What do you want, Harry?”, I asked, almost sternly; but having him walk towards me made me somewhat nervous; so I decided to occupy myself. Grabbing a few glasses out of a cupboard, I went over to the fridge. ”I just wanted to talk about what happened..earlier.” I felt my heartbeat quickening at his words, quickly pulling out the apple juice carton. “Uh-huh.”, I replied casually, slowly starting to fill the juice into one of the glasses; Harry now standing beside me. “What happened there?”, he asked; feeling his eyes burning holes into the side of my head.

“We kissed?” I continued with filling the next glass; noticing the slight shaking of my hand. It was weird how fast my emotions had changed from happy and surprised to nervous and vulnerable. Niall and Harry both caused such different emotions, it almost phsyically hurt. It was like I was bipolar. One boy was one mood, the other was another. It was confusing; and daunting.

”I know that.”, he sighed, seeing him run his fingers through the front of his hair, “But what did it mean?” He now placed his hand on my arm, causing my shaking to increase. The electricity of his touch almost hurt; but felt so good at the same time. “It was just a kiss, I don’t see how it should mean anything. “, I mumbled, going on to the third glass. Each glass represented a stage of the conversation in my mind. “You don’t?” Harry questioned, trying to catch my eyes; but I wouldn’t give in, I wouldn’t look at him. “I don’t…do you?”

The grip of his hand on my arm tightened all of a sudden, my gaze subconsciously lifting to meet Harry’s; and instantly, I regretted it. “I think I do.”, he said; his voice monotone, but meaningful. “You do?” Turning back to the fourth glass, I slowly lifted the carton; only to spill the juice right next to the glass as Harry opened his mouth to speak. “It meant a lot and you know it.”

”What?”, I hissed, frowning as I looked at him. “You do, Lyla. You just don’t want to admit that you felt it too.” My jaw dropped, my mouth falling to an ‘o’. “I did not! It was just a kiss!” Hissing at him as I grabbed some tissues and cleaned up the mess I just caused; only for my hand to be grabbed and dragged away from the countertop.

”Look at me!”, Harry demanded. “Tell me you didn’t feel a thing.” Knitting his eyebrows together, his eyes examined my face. Gulping, I looked at him. I didn’t need this to get any more complicated than it already was; if I told Harry that I had felt something, it would fuck everything up. It would be wrong; wrong for us, wrong for Niall and even for Emma. ”I didn’t.”